The Saklan School is a private Pre-K through 8 school located in Moraga, CA. Our mission is to think creatively, act compassionately, and live courageously.
Join the Saklan Student Council in showing your school spirit! For the next couple of months, every Friday will be a Saklan Spirit Day. All students and teachers are invited to dress up for the following spirit days:
Friday, March 10: Pajama Day – Wear school-appropriate pajamas and normal shoes (no slippers please)
Friday, March 17: St. Patrick’s Day – Wear green
Friday, March 24: Identity Day – Wear anything that shows something about who you are and/or what you are passionate about
Friday, April 14: Color Out Day – Wear Blue from head to toe & support Autism Awareness Month
Friday, April 28: Funky Fashion Day – Wear mismatched and fun fashion
Friday, May 19: Beach Day – Wear typical clothes for tropical/warm weather (no swimsuits please)
Participation in these spirit days is optional. If students choose not to dress up, they need to wear their uniforms.
Recently, Saklan’s sixth graders worked to expand their understanding of volume beyond the equation: volume = length * width * height.
The students experimented with cubic units as they explored a situation involving offices with unusually shaped bases. They quickly were able to determine that a multiplier could be used to extend the height of the office towers much more efficiently than counting. And after a class discussion of why the area of the office tower’s base was the same as the volume of the office tower when it was one unit high, the sixth graders came up with a better formula. Volume = Area of base * height.
An interesting side note: At a math teaching conference that Saul Zippin, Saklan’s Middle School Math Teacher, went to a few years ago, he attended a session about middle school students finding the volume of a parallelepiped (a parallelogram prism) that had one of the sides weighted so it would stand up, as shown in the image below.
Researchers from the University of Illinois had filmed their students finding the volume of the prism and their outcomes. All of the students used the V = l X w X h idea. Some found the height from their desk to the top (the correct way), while about half measured the side that was the slant instead of the actual height. When it was time for questions, Saul asked how many of the students found the area of the parallelogram (the base of the prism) and then multiplied that by the height. They said that none of the students in their research did that. Interested in how Saklan students would solve this, Saul made a class set of the 3D shapes, weighted the base and asked the students to find the volume. Every student found the volume correctly! Most turned the parallelepiped on its side, found the area of the base and multiplied by the height.
Saul noted that when students are taught to think mathematically using manipulatives and class discussions, they have a huge advantage when attempting to solve problems.
Saklan’s social-emotional learning emphasis for March is honesty and trustworthy. Throughout the month, all Saklan students will discuss what each of these words mean with their class, brainstorm ways to be honest and showcase trustworthiness, and look for ways to put those ideas into practice both at school and at home.
The Owlets had so much fun celebrating Valentine’s Day together! In the days leading up to the holiday, they read the books A Little Spot of Kindness and A Little Spot of Love, both by Diane Alber, to give them ideas about how to be loving and kind. The students were excited to put “kindness spots” on their hands to help them remember to be kind.
To further embrace being kind to each other, the Owlets now have a “Little Jar of Kindness” in their classroom that they try to fill every day by doing kind deeds!
The Hoot Owls have also been learning about kindness and what it means to be a good friend. They made a long list of things they can do to be kind, and then added “The Kindness Jar” to their classroom. Whenever a teacher sees or hears about a Hoot Owl doing something kind, they write a little note and put it in the jar. When the jar starts to get full they read all the notes together as a class.
The 4th graders are currently working to answer the driving question, How can we use our knowledge of the gold rush to understand the impact of humans on the CA environment today?
Students have been conducting research to explore their own questions about the 1849 CA gold rush and it’s lasting impact on the environment. They have been learning virtually with staff from various CA State Parks, Dr. Sarah Duddigan, an environmental scientist at the University of Reading, and Jared Naimark, a CA mining organizer from the non-profit organization, Earthworks.
As they continue their unit, they need your help connecting with a few more experts. Do you, or someone you know, have interest in sharing your knowledge in the following areas?
Comic books or graphic novels
Animation or drawing
Self-publishing
Gold jewelry making or recycling
Mercury and/or cyanide toxicology
If so, please reach out to Linda (llathrop@saklan.org) and Ashley (ajennings@saklan.org) to see how your knowledge could help the 4th graders with their study.
The Saklan Middle School offers a variety of elective classes that cater to the community’s diverse hobbies and interests, which we call LBD (Learning by Doing) classes. On Thursday, February 16th, the students had the opportunity to explore Korean culture through the class “Exploring Cultures through Food.” Students learned about the various ingredients that make up a traditional Korean meal, as well as the customs and etiquette associated with dining in Korea. Students were eager to try Kim Chi, Japchae, and Tteokbokki. Before dining, the students practiced how to serve their elders while avoiding eye contact, as custom in Korean etiquette. They expressed their appreciation for learning about other cultures and their eagerness to learn more.
In addition to the Exploring Cultures through Food class, Saklan also offers classes such as Sadie’s Baking Class (8th grade student), Bookworms with Jennifer (7th-8th grade Humanities teacher), and African Drumming with Isaac (Saklan’s drumming teacher). These classes are a combination of teacher-led and student-led activities, providing students with the opportunity to make memories while learning new skills. We encourage middle school students to continue creating their own classes to teach their community.
In Spanish, the fifth graders have been learning about the food groups and what types of foods make up a healthy, well-balanced plate. They each created a slide of a healthy plate and then wrote sentences about the items that one should consume for a balanced diet. Check out examples of their slides and sentences below!
We hope you will join us for to this year’s Auction Fiesta on Saturday, March 11 at 6:00 p.m. The celebration will focus on community building and have several activities (games, photo booth, raffles) to encourage socializing and reconnecting with friends old and new! Our Fiesta will also include a taco bar dinner, open bar, wine ring toss, silent auction, and lots of fun!
Auction Tickets
Tickets are now available online for a discounted rate of $75 each. But the price increases on March 1st, so get your tickets today!
Don’t miss this special celebration and chance to support Saklan. Proceeds from this event are invested directly back into our children’s educational experiences, in and out of their classrooms.
Fund-a-Needs
Instead of having one large fund-a-need, this year we have multiple different projects/items that we are raising funds for. They are:
The Summer Reflection Fund/Professional Development for Saklan Faculty & Staff – Support teachers and staff in their pursuit of professional development projects of personal interest that also benefit their students and the school.
Collaborative, Flexible Seating – Help us create learning spaces, inside and outside of the classrooms, that inspire collaboration.
Media Arts Literacy – Help the art program expand to teach digital art and graphic design, as well as give students the opportunity to photograph their own artwork and create a digital portfolio.
Water Refill Station for the Early Childhood Area – Provide Saklan’s youngest students with a water bottle refill station to help keep them hydrated and foster independence.
All-weather Library Book Return Station – Help protect Saklan’s newly expanded Library collection from water and weather damage, as well as create a central location for all community members to return their library books.
Indoor Vertical Garden for the Science Lab – Provide students with the opportunity to learn about life cycles and biology through hands-on, indoor gardening and plant growing.
Can’t Attend the Auction?
Even if you can’t join us in person at the Fiesta, you can still be involved in the auction. From donating wine for the wine ring toss to underwriting a teacher’s ticket, there are many ways to show support for the event. This year’s silent auction and fund-a-needs will be available online, so all community members can participate in the auction even if they can’t be at the event!
Still Collecting Wine
We are still collecting wine for our Wine Ring Toss! Please consider donating a favorite bottle or two (valued at $20 or more, or rated 90 points or higher) to this year’s collection. Please bring your wine donations to the Saklan Office or drop them off at the Auction Fiesta table in front of Saklan during morning drop off.
Have Questions?
Check out the Frequently Asked Questions page on the auction website for more information about the event, as well as to see the list of auction donors.
On Friday, February 10th, Saklan students celebrated the 100th day of the 2022-2023 school year. To mark the occasion, the Hoot Owls made “100” crowns and participated in several counting activities.
The Kindergartners celebrated the 100th day of school by asking questions of an (almost) 100 year old. Check out their questions and the answers they received via video by clicking here!
The Kindergarteners also made a special snack of a 100 things, as well as glasses, crowns, and structures with 100 cups. They also shared mystery bags of 100 items that they brought from home, giving clues to their friends to try and guess what was in each bag!
The first graders enjoyed counting by tens to make trail mix with 100 snack items in it, and made necklaces with 100 loops on them.
The third graders celebrated by completing some challenges related to 100. They wrote a list of 100 words from 10 different categories, completed a 100 multiplication chart and collaborated on STEM challenges: building a tower with 100 cups, building a Lego structure with 100 Lego blocks, and making a design with 100 pattern blocks.
The students had a wonderful day celebrating 100 days of learning!
Last week, our compassionate fifth graders created heart table toppers to brighten the dining room of Aegis Senior Living Center, and then hand-delivered them. The students also delivered cards that the Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade students made, as well as table-toppers from 4th grade.
Lin and Alison, of Aegis Senior Living Center, were delighted to receive the Valentine’s Day decorations. They shared that they were used to decorate their dining tables on Valentine’s day night, and that their residents loved the cards and table décor!
FRIDAY BLOG 
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